Shutter [Jonathan Byers] Stranger Things I

IV: Connection

con·nec·tion

noun

a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else.

Jonathan parked on an obscure road that Emilia was sure didn't even have a road sign. With anyone else, Emilia would have begun to feel worried. So far away from civilization with a guy she hardly knew, no way to contact anyone for help, with anyone else she would have worried, and yet she still would have done what they asked. She'd done it before, she'd been pressured by false kindness. Quickly abolishing that agonizing memory, she got out of the car and wrapped her camera strap around her neck. The wind was tame, and yet the air was bitter and sharp against her cheeks. Colour filled them quickly, and her eyes began to water slightly.

Down and over the ditch between where the car was parked and the forest's edge they went, jumping over the small stream of water at the bottom of the ditch. Emilia was clad in jeans, boots a blue long-sleeved shirt and a jacket that hugged her tightly, and she knew that she was dressed well enough for a short amount of time outdoors. Normally she would have walked home, and the walking itself kept her warm. Too much time in the forest that was heavily shaded by the dense canopy above and she would find herself freezing and unable to feel her fingers. But she wasn't thinking about that.

They walked in silence aside from their feet crunching down on the crisp earth, and only when they had covered half of a kilometer did Jonathan signal that they stop. Emilia paused where she stood and instantly began to look around; her blue eyes scanned the thick trees, towering tall above them. She noticed how dense the forest got all around her and how she couldn't see through much of the wilderness. It grew darker the deeper she looked, and yet there was a liveliness to it all. Above the tops of the trees swayed, making the wind bustle. Though there were no bugs that she could hear, she watched birds swoop and catch their meals, she watched as they fluttered from branch to branch without a care. Of what she could see of the sky, it was mostly clear, and yet as the days grew dark earlier now, they were turning a beautiful, deep Prussian Blue.

Stepping onto a tree that had fallen many years ago, the bark upon it had become a new growing spot for mosses and other plants, Emilia noticed from the high vantage point that there were flower growing at the end of the fallen tree. Walking to the large base, where the roots stood almost as tall as her, she crouched down to inspect the beautiful winter flower; not many bloomed this time of year, but there were always some. With dark green stalks and bright purple flowers, they caught her eye with ease. It was not an extraordinary flower, but Emilia had seen it before in her life.

She had woken from the surgery after the car accident; every part of her body ached and she felt as though she had been cut open. In fact, she had because her spleen ruptured and immediate surgery had to be performed when she had arrived at the hospital. Because of her pain, she knew that she was alive, and yet she felt that when they opened her up, they had taken something out of her. She knew the emptiness that she felt was because of her mother, a void that nothing and no one could ever fill, and yet she wanted to find someone to blame. The man who had caused the accident seemed to easy to blame.

Bed ridden and feeling both numb and in agony, Emilia noticed the bouquet of flowers that was in a clear vase. The first thought that crossed her mind was that it was her father or her aunt, dropping off flowers that would not be tended to and would die in a hospital and never fully appreciated. They were various types of flowers, their colours looking fake and unapologetic. Emilia instantly knew that they were purchased at the gift store, were probably overpriced too. She understood the sentimentality of it, but there was something dying within her that could never appreciate it in full. Just as she was going to turn her head, she saw the Heather. Dark green stems, bright purple flowers; obviously hand picked and with thought put into the gesture. They were in a plastic hospital cup.

She stared at them until a nurse came in. "Who brought me those?"

The nurse had given her an apologetic glance. "Sorry sweetie, I didn't see. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes." She had replied authentically.

The sound of a camera shutter woke Emilia up from her thoughts, and she quickly turned towards Jonathan and shot him an expressive look that suggested she had not wanted her picture taken so unexpectedly. Jonathan looked up from behind his camera, which was nicer than Emilia's, and grinned. He held up his hand and gestured for her to move down the log a little bit. "Right there, perfect."

"Do you always take girls to the forest to take their pictures?" She asked, rising up on her toes and wrapping her hands around her lower back. She dropped back down onto her heels and began to rock back and forth slightly.

"Depends on how well it works on you," he grinned playfully. His words suggested that this was in fact his first time taking pictures of a woman in the woods.

"I'll let you know," still rocking back, Emilia felt nervous because of how she was feeling. She was feeling happy, something that she had forgotten the taste of a long time ago. It scared her, to feel that way, and yet all she wanted was more. Jonathan had an eager yet innocent look in his eyes, and Emilia added, "But I'll tell you now, so far so good."

Jonathan didn't have experience with flirting, and it was clear that neither did Emilia, and yet he was intrigued by her words, by the way she moved. "Can I take your picture now?"

"Are you going to keep it?"

He paused, then said, "I've kept every picture I've ever taken."

"Good."

Something about the way she said it made a shiver run along Jonathan's spine. He brought his camera up to cover the expression that made its way onto his face, and waited for Emilia to pose. She wasn't sure what to do, she was rarely on this end of the camera, and that much was clear to him. She stood, hands still behind her back, and cocked her head to the side. Her pink lips didn't tug into a smile, a serene look upon her face that was more than fitting to the tranquility that was the forest around her. She didn't need to be outlandish with her pose to capture what Jonathan wanted.

After a few shots he walked to the edge of the log and reached his hand out, "Come with me, I want to show you something."

Emilia leaned forward and her camera swung slightly, so she reached her hand up to hold it tight against her chest. Crouching down, she gripped Jonathan's hand and felt that connection between them, one she had never felt before. Concealing the startled expression she almost revealed, she dropped down from the log and landed on the soft forest floor with hardly a sound. She released her grip on her camera, but she continued to hold Jonathan's hand. With only a look into his eyes to confirm that it was okay, she saw the nervousness in him echo her own.

But he continued to hold her hand.

They walked side by side this time as Jonathan led them through the dense forest; he seemed to know where he was going and Emilia put her full trust in him. She could not recall the last time she had put her trust into someone, and it felt both healthy and utterly terrifying. Not much later, the sky appeared out of nowhere. The found the break in the trees where it overlooked the sun setting; being a cloudless day it shone a stunning orange and pinks, purples and dark sapphires shot out through the sky. In awe, Emilia took a moment before she released Jonathan's hand and grabbed her camera, bringing it to her eye. She snapped the shot, and with each passing minute she took another, becoming more and more aware of the fact Jonathan was not watching the sun set, but watching how she was lighting up at last.